Chapter 10

JD had decided to go into work early. He was unsure about how to deal with Todd that morning, so instead he bolted and trusted that Todd could make his own way out. Still, he had savoured waking up in Todd's arms for the few moments he could manage. As far as he could tell those few moments of indescribable warmth would get him through the day ahead.

He had decided to take his scooter, which he still kept despite having a car. It was one of those days when he just needed to feel the air ripping past him and the sense of peace and freedom that only riding Sasha could provide.

JD knew that he had to face Perry eventually. He wasn't keen about doing that, which is why he drove the 'scenic route' to work that day. His heart was beating a mile a minute due to anxiety. Paranoid thoughts ran through his mind about what could happen. It was times like these he hated his over-active imagination. A few hopeful thoughts drifted in, wondering if they could just go back, but they were soon discarded. All he could do was suck it up and deal, even if he just wanted to cave and scream.

Finally arriving in the hospital parking lot, JD tried to look as nonchalant and uninjured as possible. He stepped off Sasha and took a deep breath before walking through the entrance to the hospital. The moment his foot hit the inside, he spotted Turk and Carla.

JD approached with a little caution, but still made an attempt at contact. "Hey Turk, how's it going?"

Turk just kissed Carla on the cheek and walked out the door carrying Izzy with him. JD couldn't hide the hurt on his face as he watched his best friend walk away. It wasn't their first disagreement and JD knew that Turk was just being stubborn, but he couldn't wait for the silent treatment period to be over.

Carla drew him away from his thoughts. "Would you mind telling me why you guys are fighting this time?"

"I'm not really sure why." JD answered, turning his attention to her.

"Don't worry about it Bambi, he'll come around. You know how he gets. Besides he makes up with you easier than me." Carla touched his arm compassionately. "By the way, are you okay?"

"What do you mean?" JD said a little too quickly with his eyes wide. Then as he figured Carla couldn't possibly know anything, relaxed a little.

"It's just that Todd said you had some bad food poisoning yesterday."

"Oh yeah." JD mentally thanked the surgeon in his mind. "I'm feeling a little better but still a bit…"

His sentence was stopped as his eyes met those of Perry, who had just come to the nurse's station. The unsettling bolt hit JD like a tidal wave before he became numb. He wanted to flee, but his legs kept him paralysed on the spot. His love life from the last few months flashed before his eyes.

Perry stared back at JD, looking just as conflicted about what to do. He felt nauseated and tense. Suddenly the hospital just disappeared and he was back in that bathroom. The love, then the fear, then the anger passed through him until it went black and he was back in the moment. He sucked in a lung full of air, remembering he could in fact breathe.

Trying to break eye contact, JD preyed that nothing awkward would happen. He thought he saw a glimmer of guilt and sorrow in the older man's eyes, but dismissed it. Trying to will his mind back to earlier that morning was unsuccessful. Perry walked away first and JD felt faint. He grabbed the nurse's station to steady himself.

"JD, are you alright?" Carla asked with her eyes full of concern, waving a hand in front of his face to get his attention back.

JD felt a lump in the back of his throat. His legs finally getting some feeling back into them, he knew he had to run. After grabbing his patient charts from the counter top and mumbling an excuse to Carla he took off.

Breathing deeply as he trotted along, JD mentally calmed himself down. It was awkward seeing Perry but not nearly as bad as expected, at least that's what he tried to convince himself in order not to end up in a hospital bed. So he didn't feel tempted to faint, JD affirmed that the worst had already happened and he'd survived.

He ducked into his first patient's room. The way he saw it, dealing with sick people would take his mind off things. How could he feel self-pity when surrounded by others worse off than him? The day could only pick up from here.

"Mrs Masters, it says here you've been in a car accident." JD looked up from his chart and cringed a little at the sight. The woman's face was worse for ware and would definitely need some reconstruction. His mind was scolding him for an inappropriate reaction.

"It's bad isn't it?" She asked, looking as though she was about to lose it.

"No, not really." JD said, even though it was clear he was lying. Trying to smooth over his statement, he made a suggestion while checking her vitals. "I'll call in a plastic surgeon for you. This guy, miracle worker. You'll be looking gorgeous in no time."

JD knew that Todd would likely be at the hospital by that point; or on his way. An involuntary smile came to his face at the thought of Todd spooning him, until he remembered that he'd ditched Todd at his apartment specifically to avoid giving into the temptation of those thoughts. Despite that, he let the daydream carry on until the thoughts of Perry evaporated from his mind.

"Something wrong Doctor Dorian?"

JD snapped back to reality. "I'm just paging him now."

"Thanks." Mrs Masters seemed a little cheered by this news.

JD finished paging Todd and looked towards his patient. He knew that he should probably stay while she was consulted, but he decided against it. "Doctor Quinlan should be here soon. He's an awesome surgeon. A little out there, but a really amazing person. I'll check on you later."

Stepping out in the hallway, JD cheered up a little. Maybe the day wasn't going to be as bad as he thought. He held his head high and affirmed that he would just go with the flow and deal with it.

As he walked towards his next patient room, he saw Janitor, Ted and Doug leaning against one of the walls. The largest of the three was staring at him intently. JD stared back at them, wondering what they wanted. Getting an 'I'm watching you' signal from Janitor, he held his charts close and tilted his head down. Maybe it was best to keep laying low for awhile.

Todd could still feel JD's bed, not to mention the other man in his arms, even though a few days had passed. He was accepting of the fact that JD wanted to be friends, but couldn't control his butterflies when JD was around. This led to a couple of impromptu hugs, or sneaking a hand squeeze usually followed by a friendly yet flirty smile in the few moments he had spotted him. JD didn't seem to mind, even though he did look a little nervous, which reassured Todd that his perseverance would pay off eventually.

Still, as much as he respected JD, he had his own wishes. Todd wanted to tell people about how good it felt to comfort JD. He wanted to find out who had hurt him. He also wanted some advice on how to speed up the process of becoming JD's boyfriend, or a hint of where he really stood. The one person Todd knew he could turn to for all these things was the fellow surgeon he considered his best friend.

"Hey T-dog what's going down? Haven't seen you lately, but do I have some news." Todd caught up with his friend walking down the hall.

Turk, having been in negative moods since finding out about JD and Perry, wasn't up for talking to Todd at that time. However, to be polite he replied. "What's on your mind Todd?"

"Dude, I slept with JD." Todd told him with a grin on his face.

"I don't want to hear about you and JD having sex right now, okay?" A frustrated Turk tried to quicken his pace to get out of the conversation.

"Well we didn't have sex." Todd kept up with Turk, not getting the hint that his friend wasn't really interested. He just didn't want to mislead when it came to JD because it was different this time. "I was at his place the other day, holding him and he fell asleep. Then I just stayed the night. It was awesome." Todd's smile became wider as he remembered the experience fondly. "I wish I could have woken up beside him, but he'd already gone. Guess he had some kind of emergency."

Turning to his friend, Turk hated seeing the hopeful smile. From what he had heard and witnessed at the bar, Todd was just getting led on again. In Turk's eyes, the situation was putting him in an awkward spot even though he wasn't directly involved, as always.

"Todd, maybe you should just forget about this whole JD thing. He is hooking up with someone else after all." Turk pushed the button for the elevator.

"Not anymore." Todd explained. "He told me that someone had broken up with him. What an idiot! Don't they know that having JD in your arms is better than porn?"

A confused Turk tried to make sense of what he just heard. "What do you mean JD broke up with someone?"

"As much as I hate seeing JD bummed out, it means The Todd is next in line." Todd nudged Turk suggestively as they both stepped in the elevator.

"He was really that bummed out?" Turk couldn't ignore the concern for his best friend, no matter how weird he felt in this situation.

"Yeah, that's why I was at his apartment in the first place." Todd's hands went to his hips as he contemplated something else. "I wish he'd told me who caused his bruises. The Todd was going to take care of it, but JD didn't say who it was. Has he spoken to you about it, I know he trusts you."

"No he didn't say anything." Turk's eyes widened. "Are there more sex bruises?"

"Dude they aren't from booty calls. Someone obviously beat the crap out of him." Todd's face flashed with fury and his hands balled into fists. "The thought of someone touching JD like that…Are you positive you didn't hear anything, because I just…I care about him a lot."

Turk put his hand to his mouth, watching the elevator doors open for his floor. All the pieces came together and he realised that JD's infatuation with Perry had ventured into dangerous territory. There was no other explanation. He knew that he had to find JD as soon as possible to explain himself. Not only to alleviate his guilt at not being there, but to comfort his friend. When Todd stepped out of the elevator, Turk pressed the button for the ICU floor, leaving his baffled friend behind.

"Come on, come on." He rapped his fist against the wall until the elevator doors opened. Preparing to spring into action he cried out "I'm coming JD."

His plans were halted immediately when his pager went off. Reading the message, he groaned. As important as JD was, he would have to wait.

Coffeebucks was quite busy late afternoons. Some doctors had finished their shifts, others were waiting to start and there was a scatter of hospital visitors needing refreshment. Still, the Brain Trust had managed to get their usual table, mainly because Janitor scared off the interns who were sitting there beforehand.

Todd walked up to the group. He figured that maybe they would give him some advice on the JD situation, since Turk seemed overly distracted. Maybe they would even create a little plan to help him out. As he approached the table, his hope was replaced by confusion.

"So you think you can just skip a few meetings and waltz right back in do you?" Ted asked with his attempt at assertion, which was hardly threatening at all.

"Easy, Ted. I'll handle this." Janitor, as always, took control of the group. "You hurt us Todd, hurt us deep. We were willing to give you a chance but missing the Brain Trust birthday bash was the last straw. We had cake and a piñata and everything."

Doug spoke up, his reaction a little more mellow than the others. "Yeah, what happened to you man?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm working an angle on a crush." Todd explained.

Janitor held up his hand to signal silence. "Seems you think you're too good for us. So Rex is in and you're out."

"Come on guys! The Todd's still cool right?" Todd looked towards his usual seat, now occupied by Rex. "Forgiveness five?" He offered it around the table. Doug looked like he was going to cave, but backed out at the last minute.

"Now hand over your special Brain Trust beeper." Janitor motioned his hand out. "Feel free to burn your official Brain Trust underwear, only god knows where it's been."

Todd wasn't sure why he was being kicked out, but he put his other pager on the table. Hands on hips, he kept looking around the table for any kind of reassurance from his friends. However, none was offered.

"Scram." Janitor said bluntly. As Todd turned to walk away he added "You really should have given the swirly."

Todd sighed but shook off the rejection, being the go with the flow guy that he was. His number one concern was JD and that was all he had time to concentrate on at the time. He went to get a jumbo latte and the moment he ordered his mood immediately picked up.

Any resentment he felt towards the Brain Trust was soon replaced because he spotted JD, who was sitting at another table with his son. Todd knew nothing could bring him down now, even if they were still technically in the friends stage. Repeating a few key things in his head, Todd collected his beverage and strode confidently over to them.

"JD, Sammy. Wassup?" Todd sat down at the table, unable to control his beaming.

Sam let out a happy squeal and a few gurgling noises at Todd's presence. He looked at JD, then back at Todd, almost as though his undeveloped mind could see something they couldn't. Sam reached out towards The Todd, wriggling in his father's arms. JD looked at the surgeon and immediately the fire in his heart blazed.

"I'm glad Kim and I finally got the Sam schedule sorted again. Which was cool because we just had the best weekend ever, right Sammy?" JD smiled at the other man, silently telling the fire to calm down. "How are you?"

"Better now." Todd snuck his hand over the table and quickly squeezed JD's hand. "I've been thinking about you a lot."

"I've thought about you too" was the serious reply.

JD was still a little reluctant when it came to the Todd situation. There was no denying how comfortable he felt in Todd's presence, but something was holding him back. A part of him was scared to be so open again so soon. Also the self saboteur voice was never too far away. As much as he hated it, some nagging feelings for Perry still lingered around, even if emotions for Todd were slowly sweeping them away.

"I think he's missed you." JD commented, changing the subject and handing a restless Sam over to Todd. "Would you mind holding him for a bit, I have to pee."

"All good." Todd gave a nod and watched JD walk away before turning back to Sam, who was looking back at him curiously. "You know, The Todd has a major thing for your dad. Do you know what he thinks of me?"

Sam just smiled and giggled in reply. Todd sat him up on the table, laughing along with him. He liked that JD trusted him with Sam; even more that Sam seemed to appreciate his presence. The child grabbed the man's finger, shaking it up and down before grabbing another finger squeezing it. Sam was entertained by this immensely, while Todd just took it all in.

"So you want to play S-Dog? Come here."Todd picked Sam up and held him in the air, before bringing him back down into a hug.

"JD likes hugs. He says the good ones last seven seconds." Todd could feel Sam tugging at his doo rag. He pulled him back a little, causing Sam to pull off the surgical hat. "I'm jealous that you get to hug JD all the time. I mean, you're his son and everything, but there is no way you're cuter than The Todd."

Sam just stared at him, as though he was listening intently. He soon tilted his head up, signalling he was going into a fantasy.

"So you go into fantasy land just like JD, huh?" Todd placed Sam on his knee, observing the child turn back to him and continue his doe-eyed staring. "Okay, so you are cute, but the Todd is more buff."

Todd sipped some of his latte while Sam sat on his knee, waving the skull and roses covered cloth like a flag. Todd calmly took the doo rag back from Sam, who was now reaching for the cup of coffee which appeared to fascinate him. Todd pulled the latte from Sam's reach, setting it down on the table. Lightly he petted Sam on the head in an apologetic gesture, as the child still seemed in curious awe of the Coffeebucks cup.

"Dude, coffee is not for babies. Besides, it's a jumbo and you're only a little player."

As Todd continued keeping Sam occupied, Perry entered the establishment and was confronted immediately with the scene. It took him a moment to realise that Todd was in fact holding Sam. His reaction was one of anxiety at knowing JD was nearby and shock at the mere sight of Todd and JD's son together. He run a hand through his hair and walked over to the table, almost storming over.

"Now what in god's name are you doing with JD's kid, make that any kid?" Touching his nose and folding his arms soon had him in his common stance. "Though, I must say, it is nice to see you hanging around with people on your level of intelligence."

"JD asked me to hold him, isn't he awesome? Smile S-Dog." Todd bounced Sam on his lap, causing a few happy noises from the tot. "If I'm good with him, then I'll score some points with JD."

Perry shot him a look of incredulity. "I think I will take it from here. With all due respect, which in your case is very little anyway, it looks like Newbie has gone insane. Who would leave a kid with you, honestly? Unless Kim and JD want Sam to grow up into a sexist pervert who likes to cut things. Since I highly doubt that is the case, I'll take him thank you."

Without even waiting for a response, Perry reached out and took Sam from Todd's arms. Not only had he made the mistaken assumption that Todd around kids was bad, but he didn't want Todd getting any points with JD, whatever he meant by that.

Perry knew that if they could just talk, he and JD would be okay. At the very least they had to be civil to maintain a decent working relationship. He figured that if he was holding Sam then his former lover would have to approach him and then they couldn't avoid talking about things. No fighting could erupt around a young child and JD would have to hear him out. They could put this all behind them and create some peace in the silent emotional war.

However, being snatched sparked an immediate fearful reaction from Sam. The moment Todd was gone from view and replaced with Perry's wide eyes, whimpers were escaping him. Looking from side to side, Sam tried to spot his dad or Todd, unable to make sense of what was happening. The only sure thing was that he felt bad vibes. He began getting fussy again and within a minute he was wailing.

"Oh no please, don't be like this. Buck up kiddo." Perry groaned as he tried desperately to get Sam to stop crying; funny noises, light bouncing, a cuddle. Frustration was building inside of him at his need to get everything off his chest. "Sam please stop crying, I need to do this. You like me, heck you're partly named after me."

Something in Todd was set off. An instinct he felt when his friends or loved ones were in trouble. It was that moment that he concluded that no-one could upset father or son Dorian in his presence, or they would have to deal with him. Sam didn't like being with the chief, so Todd was going to fix it.

"Uncool, Doctor Cox." He reached out and prepared to take Sam back. "Allow The Todd to show you how it's done." Todd managed to get the upset child away from Perry, despite being greeted with an enraged stare from the boss.

The moment he was back with Todd, Sam gradually calmed down. Todd cuddled the tot protectively, treating him as gently as he had JD. In a few moments Sam was smiling again. His little arms wrapped around Todd's neck as much as possible. As Todd rubbed his back, he let out a yawn.

"There you go. All better now." Todd watched as Sam's eyes began shutting and he snoozed against the supportive shoulder. "You wanna go to sleep? Okay, go to sleep." He couldn't help but feel a little cocky. "The Dorian's like snoozing on The Todd."

"Since when do people like The Todd better than me? Even the damn kid should know better." Perry scoffed aloud, watching Todd comfort Sam.

JD had come back into the coffee house, silently gushing at how adorable he thought Todd and Sam looked together. However, spotting Perry close to his kid and crush made him nervous and annoyed. He didn't want to deal with it at that moment; not after the success of laying low and avoiding Perry almost completely.

Walking to the table, he picked up his back pack and took a sleeping Sam off Todd. "Thanks for that."

"Anytime. He's asleep now. Cox held him and he got all antsy, but he's better thanks to The Todd." Todd looked pleased with himself as he informed JD of this.

JD however, was unamused. "You let him hold my son?"

"Dude, he just took him off me. I didn't mean to but he is kinda the boss." Todd protested, seeing that he had hit a nerve. His heart beat fast at the fear he'd angered JD.

"Just forget it." JD glared at Perry, making his intentions clear with his eyes but still had to say what he felt. As he began to exit with Sam, he murmured threateningly to his former lover so others couldn't hear. "You wanted out of my life so don't touch my son."

As JD power walked out of Coffeebucks and across the parking lot, he realised that he couldn't count on not being followed. He tried to ignore it as best he could but Todd caught up with him at the car.

"JD what's the rush?" Todd had a mixture of concern and intrigue on his face.

"It's nothing, I've finished my shift and I want to go home." JD snapped a little too harshly, feeling a little ashamed for being rude to Todd but still rushing.

"Just wait a second. Please?"

JD strapped Sam into the special car seat before giving his full attention to Todd. He still was pretty eager to leave and get back to the solitude of his apartment, where Perry was not, but of course his people-pleasing instinct convinced him to listen to Todd. It was the least he could do and he knew that.

"I'm not mad at you Todd. I'm just stressed, okay?"

The moment Todd was within arms reach, he pulled JD into a hug. JD tensed up a little, but then Todd loosened the grip at remembering the bruises. It was an amazing hug, the kind JD craved from others on a regular basis. He reciprocated it almost immediately, basking in the delicious emotions the hug brought. Both men loved the way it felt, how nothing outside the hug seemed to exist. Todd made sure it lasted at least ten seconds, three more than required just to leave a lasting impact.

"May as well take what I can get." Todd explained.

JD felt Todd glide away from him but the endearment of the hug lingered on his body. "I better go."

"If you want, you and Sam can come over to El Casa de Todd. We can hang out." Todd trailed a flirty hand down JD's arm. "What do you say?"

JD blushed a little, wanting to accept but still insisting on keeping things in the friend zone. "Maybe some other time. I have to put Sam to bed and when he wakes up he'll want dinner and a dose of Elmo."

"Understood. I'll see you tomorrow. I'll make sure of it." Todd winked before ducking in and sneaking a kiss onto JD's cheek. "Friends still get a little cheek action, right?"

JD nodded in reply. He watched as the other man went back into the hospital as though he was strutting along to a song only he could hear. JD couldn't help but envy Todd's happiness, craving it for himself. Turning to Sam in the car, JD sighed and smiled questioningly at him.

"What do you think I should do?"

NOTE: Chapter 10, YAY :D Sure the friend's stage kind of sucks, but it looks like Sam (or S-Dog) will give Daddy some hints hehe. And what will happen when Turk's not so busy and finally talks to JD? Wanna find out? Do ya! Well you will soon, just as soon as I make chappie 11 as nice as possible. In the meantime, hope you still feel the love for this story.